Handling Objections as You Sell

An important step in the selling cycle is listening to and responding to your prospect’s concerns and objections. Here are the steps to take when a person objects to something about the product or service you’re selling:

Hear the prospect out.

Don’t be too quick to address every phrase your prospect utters. Give him time; encourage him to tell you the whole story behind his concern. If you don’t get the whole story, you won’t know what to do or say to change his mind.

Feed the objection back.

By rephrasing what your prospect’s concerns are, you’re asking for even more information. You want to be sure that he’s aired it all so that no other concerns crop up after you’ve handled this one.

Question the objection.

This step is where subtlety and tact come into play. Be sure to find out what feeling is behind that objection and reassure your prospect that your product or service is right for him.

Answer the objection.

When you’re confident that you have the whole story behind your prospect’s concern, you can answer that concern with confidence.

Confirm the answer.

You confirm your answers simply by saying, That answers your concern, doesn’t it, Mr. Parker? If you don’t complete this step, the prospect very likely will raise that objection again.

Change gears with By the way. . . .

By the way are three of the most useful words to move beyond the concern. Use these words to change gears — to move on to the next topic. Take a conscious, purposeful step back into your presentation.